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There aint anything fishy about this - its simply gorgeous, no bones about it !!!!

Hi you lot of lovely readers lol - hope you enjoy this one xx

MARKS AND SPENCER YELLOWFIN TUNA FILLETS 190g JAR - £2.99I have been over the moon since finding this product at my local Marks and Spencer store here in Hartlepool. I was wandering round there last week- as I usually do - when I came across this product and what a find !

A jar of fresh tuna fillets, not chunks or steaks but fillets. Snap frozen at sea just as soon as they're caught - in the Indian Ocean might I add.From here they are transported to North West Spain and it is here that they're hand cut into fillets before being hand packed into each jar.

These fillets have such a lovely depth of flavour which is utterly different and incomparable to the taste of tinned tuna. Its light, fresh, slightly oily and lights up the taste buds. The texture is soft and flaky yet robust.These fillets are preserved in olive oil which again adds a depth to the already wonderful flavour of the tuna fish.May I add that this product is completely dolphin friendly

The jar looks very sleek and modern. It has a black label with gold writing and a small image of a trawler with many birds flocking around it.The jar is see through so what you see really is what you get and the lid is in black to match the label.The jar stands at approximately 4 inches in height with a diameter of almost 3 inches and this means it is big enough to recycle. I keep mine to store home made sauces in the deep freeze. I also find this jar is easy to open. I have arthritis and often have to use a special device to open jars yet I can manage this one without needing to use an aid so this for me is a real bonus.The storage recommendations state that a cool dry place is best. Once opened this product must be consumed within two days and kept refrigerated in the sealed jar in the meantime.The best before date can be located on the jar bottom.

This jar also has the lid which will pop when pressed in the centre if it has been previously opened. It's a good thing to always do this when you select your jar in the store as there are some silly people who take pleasure in opening jars for fun then leaving them for unsuspecting customers .

WHAT DO I USE IT FOR ??

I have developed a habit of preparing a big plate of salad and then slightly breaking the fillets up before randomly scattering them over the salad. The olive oil coats the salad just as you would ordinarily use a salad dressing - the oil dresses it for you and also enhances the tuna flavour as it is the oil that the tuna has been steeped in. This is absolutely delicious.Another way I use it is to cook some fresh pasta and flake in the fillets with a small amount of tomato puree to taste and maybe a small chopped red chilli if I'm feeling adventurous ! This too is so tasty and the heat which warms the tuna also brings out its optimum flavour.I have also included a recipe for tuna fish cakes toward the end of this review.

WHATS IN THERE AND IS IT NUTRITIOUS ?Contents are obviously kept to a minimum - tuna loins, olive oil and salt - the less ingredients the better in this instance. Nothing more is needed. I'm not even convinced that the salt is required other than for preserving purposes.

Nutrition wise, its safe to say that this product is extremely healthy and kind to the heart as we know olive oil and oily fish to be.Typical values per 100g drained are as follows;

Salt g 1.2To help you comprehend these figures their relation to the guideline daily amounts per 100g drained are;

Women are advised to consume no more than 2000 calories per day and Men no more than 2500 calories each day. As you can see above, this product has 200 calories per 100g drained.In terms of fat, Women are advised to limit their intake to 70g daily and men 95g daily.This product has 9.0g per 100g drained.

Each day were told to limit ourselves to 6g whether Male or Female.This product contains 1.2g per 100g drained.Overall its clear to see that this product is extremely healthy.

PREGNANT ? BREASTFEEDING ? TRYING TO CONCIEVE ?One thing to really take into account is that there's strong evidence being put forward that consuming large amounts of tuna whilst pregnant can have an adverse effect on the pregnancy. The theory behind this is that the levels of mercury found in oily fish could contribute to ill effects in pregnancy, potentially causing harm to the developing nervous system.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued this advice after its evaluation of an extremely in depth review conducted by an independent body - The Committee on Toxicity (COT). This review had looked carefully at the possible risks of mercury on unborn and newborn babies.Experts at COT compared the levels of mercury in tuna with the guidelines already in issue by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on weekly mercury intake.Even though the WHO guideline limit was deemed adequate for the protection of the general population, concerns continues to be raised regarding the safeguard of babies and it was decided that recommendations should be made specific to pregnant women and babies. The guidelines are purely a precautionary measure.Following this review, the FSA now recommends that pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding or attempting to conceive should eat no more than two medium size tins of tuna. This should be no more than a drained weight of 280g all together. Alternatively women can opt for one fresh tuna steak per week if preferred.This effectively equates to around three tuna salads or three two slice tuna sandwiches per week.

For further advice on this issue, you can visit the FSA website http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/tunaadvicenew.Whilst this advice may cause you concern, you should still include some oily fish in your diet - whether pregnant or not. Oily fish contains Omega 3 fatty acids and it is these fatty acids that help reduce the risk of heart disease, blood clotting and arthritis. In pregnancy, Omega 3 fatty acids play a vital role in the development of baby's brain and eyes. However, during pregnancy, eating sardines, mackerel or salmon is preferable when having to limit your tuna intake.

As a rule, one serving of oily fish per week should give you the right amount of nutrients needed.

JUST HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ????

Now were always being told that its good to know the origins of the foods you consume but do you actually know much about the main ingredient in this product ? Speak of tuna and without knowing it, you could actually be referring to any one of several species of fish - 14 or more to be exact !! The word tuna appears to have come into use during the latter half of the last century and its thought to originate in EuropeTuna are closely related to Mackerel - both of which are members of the Scombridae family. Tuna can come under at least thirteen different names;

There are five of these species that are targeted in the Atlantic in terms of fishery; Yellowfin, Skipjack, Bigeye, Albacore and Atlantic Bluefin.

Most of us could never imagine that a tuna fish is a huge fish as we only seem to see it in small tins or as small steaks.In reality tuna fish are huge beasts of the sea. They're body shape is designed to allow them to move at great speed, for efficient predation and for stamina to travel long distances through open seas.Atlantic Bluefin tuna have been measured at 4.5 metres long with a weight of 680kg - that's heavier than a lerge horse !!!! Bigeye tuna are usually about 2.0 to 2.5 metres in length and 200 kg in weight. The smallest are Albacore at 140 cm and weighing 60 kg and Skipjack at 108 cm and weighing in at 35 kg.Tuna has a lifespan of around 3 years for the smaller species and up to 15 years for the larger ones. The methods of fishing generally used are;Trolling small luresFeathers, spoons and plastic squid.Casting shiny lures.Fly casting often in combination with chum.

1. Allow the sweet potato to simmer in a pan of water for around 20 minutes. Once cooked, drain well and mash in a large bowl.2. Slightly flake the tuna fillets into the mash potato, also adding the spring onion and beaten egg. Gently fold into the mash potato taking care not to fold too vigorously so as not to break up the tuna fillets too much. You want them to remain fairly chunky and to retain their succulence.

3. Divide the mixture into equal quantities. Ideally the fish cakes should be shaped into patties which are near to an inch in thickness.4. Spread the breadcrumbs onto a plate and coat the fish cakes on all sides.

5. Heat a small drop of oil in a non stick frying pan and fry on a low to medium heat until golden brown.Serve with a wedge of lemon and salad leaves.

I do hope that this has given you some tantalising ideas about what to do with this brilliant product as well as some facts with which to impress your friends and family with next time they have a meal with tuna !!Thank you so much for taking time to read this review and I do hope that you have a minute to spare - leave me some tips and feedback as it is this feedback that helps me to improve my reviews in future. Without it Id never improve my writing.